Complete base station functionality may be housed inside a radome enclosure. Therefore, interconnecting different modules within the enclosure in the most efficient way for performance, size and ease of assembly becomes very critical. Recently, there has been increased integration of all of the transmitting and receiving components, such as the duplexers/filters, the antenna patches, the power amplifiers, the low noise amplifiers, the phase shifters, digital signal processing and other control electronics inside the radome enclosure itself. Such integrated antenna radio systems are known as active antenna arrays (AAA). One advantage of AAAs is that traditionally bulky radio systems can be shrunk to almost the size of the antenna itself, thereby eliminating external RF connectors and RF coaxial cables. Only data and power lines may be input to AAAs, resulting in significant performance enhancement with reduced power consumption.
In an integrated architecture, the improvements in the link budget are seen to be around 3 dB to 5 dB. Such link budget improvements imply that the traditional base station's coverage radius is increased by close to 100%, and the total power consumption is reduced by as much as 40%, thereby creating a higher performing system for lower cost. Since antenna systems are typically placed in elevated locations, weight is preferred to be as light as possible, with the goal being for one person lift. Therefore, any integration that can be done without requiring additional parts has not only mechanical advantages in terms of weight and ease of assembly, but also significant performance advantages. Traditional methods of coupling and feeding require an internal galvanic connection. Such a galvanic connection may be subject to difficulties in assembly, may introduce losses, and may also be prone to intermodulation in case of intermittent connections.